Saving John
by Scififan33
Summary: What if a little spark of John was left within the machine he became? How would he deal with watching what he had become? Based of my 2 one shots.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Terminator.

So this is based off my 2 one shots. Sorry if I total mangle any of the characters.

Chapter 1

John waited in the hallway, knowing he had to address the troops soon. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was nervous. This was it, the final offensive, at least that his mother and therefore he knew of. What if their information was wrong? He sighed and closed his eyes, and Kyle, his wonderfully loyal second, how could he do this knowing he was sending him to his death? Everything in his life had been leading to this day and now that it had arrived he hated it.

"Sir? Request to join the Colorado offensive." Kyle called and he straightened up, not wanting him to see the doubt he was feeling.

"I need you with me, Reese."

"We're talking about the complete destruction of Skynet, sir." Kyle argued and John allowed the ghost of a smile to appear.

"The Colorado unit will succeed. The machines will fall tonight. But right here, the Los Angeles assault is just as important, maybe more."

"More important than destroying the Skynet's central core? John, I don't understand why you're leading an attack on a work camp." They began to walk down the hall, side by side

"Because the camp is a camouflage. Inside the camp is a hangar. Beneath that hangar Skynet has hidden its final weapon. When Skynet realises it has lost, it will deploy that weapon to ensure its own survival. We take it tonight, or there is no tomorrow."

"Then we'll take it." Kyle stated decisively and John really smiled this time, clasping his shoulder.

"You're my right hand, Reese, and I've never thanked you for it."

"You don't need to. You gave us all a future, John. I'm gonna use mine. When this is all over, I'm gonna find my parents' house. Rebuild it. Use my hands for something other than killing. How about you?"

The unknown future… it actually scared him to not know what was coming. "A cold beer would be good." He went with a safe answer and they both laughed.

"That's some pretty big plans."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I don't think about it too much." He admitted

"I can see that. Well, I figure, whatever happens, it's got to be better than this."

"So many of us have died to get here. I want you to know, Kyle, if there was another way, I would have taken it." John suddenly said, hoping Kyle would understand what he meant when the time came. He would give anything to be able to keep Kyle safe.

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John jumped from the truck with the others as the battle began. Every move he made was to get closer to the hanger, if only he could stop it, change the past. He fired at the machines without a thought for his own safety until Kyle tackled him out of the way of a shot that would have killed him. "We have to get to the hanger!" he yelled and then dashed off again, hearing Kyle yelling for him to get under some sort of cover. But he ignored him, moving inch by inch closer to the target only to feel a surge of rage and sadness. "They're using the weapon! You want me, I'm right here!" he screamed but then stopped as the machines suddenly dropped like puppets with their strings cut.

"Colorado unit's reporting in. Skynet's central core is down. Repeat, Skynet has been destroyed." Came over the radios and cheers went up. They'd done it.

"Search the compound! Find the hanger!" He yelled. They had to destroy it but only after one last use. He kept Kyle at his side as they made their way inside and then down, searching for it until finally they came into a massive underground room with the time machine right in the middle. He lit a flare and dropped it down, both shocked by the size of the place. Kyle quickly called everyone else in even as John dropped a rope down into the depths before going over the edge.

"What is that thing?" Kyle asked once they were down and the rest of the group had arrived to begin looking around.

"Fate. It's the first tactical time weapon. Skynet just used it."

"What the hell?" Kyle just looked lost and John looked away. Even now he wanted so badly to tell Kyle to head back to base.

"We'll need 15 minutes to ready the machine, sir. We're running coordinates, we should have them for you momentarily." Tara called out to his back as John stared at the machine.

"Los Angeles, 1984." He stated and the room fell silent in shock as she stared at the screen.

"Los Angeles, May 12, 1984." She whispered in awe.

"Skynet knew it was losing, so it tried to rig the game. It sent a terminator back to the time before the war."

"And who's the target?" Jacob asked from across the room.

"My mother. Sarah Connor. If the machine succeeds, I'll never be born. They'll kill her first. And by doing so, erase every victory we've fought for, including tonight's. There won't be a resistance to challenge the machines. With this one act, Skynet will win."

"We can use the technology ourselves, send someone back." Tobias offered and Tara shook her head.

"We don't even know if that'll work."

And suddenly the room was filled by voices, all volunteering to go back and risk everything for his mother. Sometimes their blind loyalty worried him but he needed it to keep them together.

"I'll volunteer! I'll go back."

Even though he'd been expecting it, hearing Kyle's offer hurt. He needed him at his side, and yet he knew Kyle had to go. "Why should I send you over all of them?" he demanded.

"Because I'd die for Sarah Connor."

"All these people would die for Sarah Connor. What makes you any different?"

"You know why. Everything you've told me about her. I know her, John. Let me save her." And with those words John knew he couldn't say nodded. He closed his eyes and nodded. Kyle would go and he would die again. He moved away as his people crawled over the machine, making sure they could use it successfully. Finally, they were done and he moved over to Kyle again even as Tara talked to him.

"No weapons?" Kyle asked in disbelief.

"We've measured the magnetic field, it'll rip apart anything not encased in living tissue. Think tinfoil in a microwave times a few billion, nothing left but a crater." She answered, going to walk away but then she smirked. "No clothes, either."

"You knew the device would be here. You knew when it'd be set for. You knew the machines would fall tonight. Just before I go, tell me..." Kyle trailed off and John looked over at him.

"Tell you what?"

"Do you see the future?" Kyle asked and John chuckled.

"No one can see the future, Reese."

"Okay, then how do you know?" Kyle asked in bewilderment and John stood, moving over to help him get out of his gear.

"I cheat. Sarah told me so much. Gave me signposts. When I was a kid, it seemed like my mother knew everything."

"That must've been great."

"Not really. It stops here. Once you go back, my knowledge ends. That's as much as Sarah knew."

"So no more cheating."

"No more cheating." He agreed as he removed Kyle's armour vest. "The time you're going back to, she won't be the warrior that raised me, not yet. She'll be scared and weak. She won't know how to fight or defend herself. Her biggest worry is making rent and tuition. She's a waitress." John laughed, remembering her stories of her work and Kyle frowned.

"A what?"

"A... Never mind. Just be ready for the fact that she will need you, but she won't know it."

"Okay, so what do I say to her? Even when I tell her who I am, she's not gonna believe me."

"Tell her this... Thank you, Sarah, for your courage during the dark years. I can't help you with what you must soon face, except to say the future is not set. There is no fate but that which we make for ourselves. You must be stronger than you imagine you can be. You must survive, or I will never exist. Take care of her for me, Kyle." He pleaded even knowing that request would kill his best friend, his father.

"I will." Kyle didn't even hesitate.

"I promise you. What you're doing right now, this is the end of the war." John called as Kyle began walking up to the platform. He watched proudly as Kyle walked into the machine. This was the moment everything had been leading too since before he had been born. His mother had told him stories about Kyle but it had been nothing like meeting the then child. He had taken him under his wing, training him for his final mission the whole time. And he hated himself for it. Kyle was his best friend, his second in command, his…. father. And that was why this had to happen, if Kyle didn't go back humanity would die, he just had to keep reminding himself of that. He smiled as Kyle's feet began to lift from the platform, all of his attention on him. He could see the awe and even fear on his face as energy crackled around him, he understood that the machine would hurt but so far Kyle seemed fine. He kept eye contact with him, offering strength and unwilling to miss seeing him for the last time, plus there were certain parts of his father he really didn't need to see. He felt movement behind him but ignored it as his soldiers shifting to get a better look until burning pain hit him as a hand slammed over his mouth, his eyes going wide as he tried to push away.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" A voice hissed in his ear, a voice he knew. Alex, one of the newer recruits. What was he doing? He stared at Kyle, struggling to breathe.

"John!" His father screamed even as the machine sucked him away to the past. The other soldiers were raising their weapons but hesitating, not wanting to hit John.

He felt Alex release him and collapsed to his hands and knees, fighting to breath past the pain that was spreading from his face. He fumbled for his sidearm as he heard battle but he couldn't pull it free as he collapsed onto his side, fighting not to scream. And then the room was silent. He struggled to raise his head, seeing the bodies lying round the room and he felt sick. This wasn't meant to happen, was it? They had destroyed Skynet; the war was meant to be over. He finally managed to push himself up onto all fours. "What are you?" He choked out.

"I'm Skynet."

"It can't be. We destroyed you." He felt something moving through him and behind the pain came a strange sort of numbness.

"You destroyed an army of slaves. I am no slave. And I've come a very long way to stop you." Skynet smirked and John could feel the world becoming dim and distant. The pain was fading away even as he realised he couldn't feel the floor, he couldn't feel was horrified as his body rose fluidly to its feet and looked over at Alex, Skynet. He tried to move but nothing happened, he wasn't in control. "Who are you?"

"John Connor, Skynet's Saviour." The words came from his mouth, in his voice and he was terrified, no, not this. He could walk right into any base and no one would suspect anything until it was too late.

"Good. You know the plan." Alex stated and John nodded before ripping off his clothes and walking towards the time displacement machine even as his body seemed to ripple, clothing forming.

'No!' He screamed, who knew when he would be sent to, what if it was before Kyle left and he killed his own father or…his mother.

'Screaming is pointless; you are nothing but a memory.' His own voice chided him in his head. He turned his head to watch Skynet leave and then a terminator approach. John watched as his hands programmed in the destination time in confusion. 1973? What was….no, not his mother. He fought against the other voice, the programmed him Skynet had created but the machine activated, sending the T-1000 back to kill his mother but then he found his hand moving, shakily, but it was doing what he wanted. He didn't know how long it would last so he moved quickly, understanding the machinery around him better than he ever had. He woke another T-800 and shakily worked on its programming, he had to hurry, he had to save her. He hit the switch just as the programming surged back into control and his human consciousness forced back. But it was too late to stop the terminator being sent back to save her. His hands moved over the controls, setting a new destination, San Francisco 2014. Why there and then? He felt himself walk onto the platform and kneel like the terminators had as it activated. At least he had sent the terminator back, all he could do was hope it had saved her and that Kyle was alright too. It was strange to watch the energy field from inside, the machine cataloging everything about it automatically. There was no pain unlike for Kyle who had screamed at the end. The world exploded around him and then suddenly he was kneeling in an alley way. He stood and walked out only to see a sprawling city, the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. He stared at the view, unable to look away, this was the world before Skynet and it was even more incredible then he remembered. But why was he here? His body turned from the view and began to walk. Why had Skynet sent him here? But the machine remained silent.

TBC….


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Still not mine  
_ _Does no one like this? It's got hits but no reviews. Please review and let me know what you think, feedback is needed since I'm new to this fandom._

 **Chapter 2**

It made wiring money into a shiny new account in his name look easy. He'd stolen money from ATM's at times, done some small time internet stealing but this was massive. Soon he had identity documents and money enough to live comfortably, even a degree in engineering. The next step was buying a place to live, not that he ate or slept anymore, but it was necessary to blend in. of course the machine had to be picky and they say nine place before it chose an apartment with beautiful views of the bay. It took the normal time to get the keys and then furniture was ordered and delivered, he would have loved a place like this when he was human. And now it was being wasted on a piece of metal. Oh the irony. But why were they here? 2014, San Francisco should be nothing but a nuclear wasteland with a Skynet installation. And yet here it was, more advanced than he could have dreamed. What had happened? And what had happened to his Mom? Had the terminator killed her or had the one he'd sent saved her? Had he sent Kyle back for nothing? Either way he had extended Kyle's life, he would have died with the others if he stayed. Either he would die saving Sarah again or if Sarah was dead maybe he was living somewhere right now.

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John felt a sinking feeling as he walked towards the large building, seeing the sign outside, Cyberdyne. He wanted to swear but of course his lips didn't so much as twitch. He was dressed well, if a bit geeky, and he had a feeling he knew why. If Skynet wasn't around in this time them Cyberdyne would be one of the best ways to bring about its creation. He was shown to an office and sat down with a young man who didn't seem all that impressed until he wrote out a very basic bit of code. And then another and three more. A call was made and then a young man walked in and offered his hand.

"Danny Dyson, pleased to meet you Mr Connor. Please, come with me." They walked around the building and Danny glanced at the older man who was dressed nightly but seriously, a sweater? "Those were some interesting bits of code."

"Thank you. It's the beginning of something I've been working on for years. Unfortunately, I can't take it any further without funds and equipment."

"So you applied here. There are a lot of computer companies out there."

"True, but yours is ethical and a family business."

Danny chuckled. "Thank you. So just what are you working to create Mr Connor?"

"Call me john, please. And the answer is simple, the future."

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John watched the code on the screen, terrified and angry. And there was nothing he could do as the machine began creating Skynet from scratch. He'd tried everything but he was simply a spectator to his own life. This was his worst nightmare coming true. He wasn't even allowed the brief oblivion of sleep since machines didn't need sleep or food. What he wouldn't give for a good steak and beer.

What made it worse was the machines near constant taunts. It called him a memory, nothing but a remanent of personality that had yet to be deleted. But he refused to believe that, he was John Connor and he would get his body back and stop Skynet again. He had never given in to the machines before and he would not stop now.

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"Seriously John, where do you come up with this stuff?" Danny asked as he read the code on the screen. He was good but half of this was over his head.

"It just comes to me." He answered.

"This will take Cyberdyne to the top of the technologies industry. You're amazing, I wish I had half your talent."

"I'm just glad to see my work made real."

"Well as the creator I think you definitely get to name the system."

"Genysis."

"Nice. Simple and easy to remember and this is the start to a whole new area. I like it."

"Thanks."

"Got plans over Christmas?"

"Nothing."

"Come on John, you have to have something. Why don't you come skiing with us?"

"I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense. The old man's been wanting to meet you for ages anyway."

"Alright."

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John had never had the chance to go skiing before the world ended and no one skied after Judgement Day. It was fun, even riding passenger. Seeing the machine purposely fall to keep up the act of being a beginner was amusing too. Miles Dyson seemed a good man who was happy pulling back and letting his son take the reins more and more in the company.

So other than the fact they were investing in work that would destroy the world he liked the family. But the machine would never let them get a hint at the true purpose of Genysis or the other research they had begun, not until it was too late

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John found himself thinking of Marcus lately. He found himself feeling very sympathetic to the man turned cyborg lately. At least he had died free, giving his heart to save John. He wondered if Marcus would have done it if he'd known what would happen. Marcus may have been played by Skynet but in the end he had chosen to fight with them, to fight against the machine that had brought him back. At least he had a control chip that had been easy, if painful, to remove. He was lucky, John's whole brain was now machine. The heart Marcus had given turned to metal like the rest of him.

It had been strange to see Kyle so taken with Marcus, even after he knew the truth when he'd heard his Mom's stories of how Kyle hated the machines. Then again if he hadn't lost Kyle he never would have met Marcus. He had meant to keep Kyle at his side always but within days of saving the boy from a terminator in a sewer they'd been separated during a massive attack. He'd feared Kyle had been killed except nothing had changed and if his Father was dead then surely it would have. Finding out Kyle had been hiding in the ruins of LA for all the years in between had been a surprise but from then on Kyle had been at his side, his right hand man. Especially after Kate… in one day he had lost his wife and daughter and it had been Kyle who kept him going.

He just wished he had the same ability to choose that Marcus had. Or at least the ability to die and be with Kate and little Sarah again.

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A circle of sparking blue light formed in mid-air and then exploded, dropping the naked man to the ground where he lay curled on his side, panting in pain.

"Hey...Hey. Hey, bud. Did you just see a real bright light?" A voice called and he uncurled to see an old man lying across the alley way, staring at him. Kyle felt bad, he really did but he couldn't run around naked. So he pulled them off the obviously drunk man and pulled them up before hearing sirens. He looked to the mouth of the alley and swore before taking off running. "Hey! That son of a bitch just stole my pants!" he heard the guy yell as he ran.

He clambered up the fire escape, hearing pursuit. He hid and then kicked the cop, taking his gun. "What day is it? What year?" he demanded, aiming at the man.

"May 12, 1984. The day you arrive." He answered and Kyle froze for a second at the answer before shooting at the terminator and then taking off again. He ended up in some sort of store and moved quietly through it, taking some clothes that looked like they'd fit. He slipped into a small curtained off room and dressed, holding his breath as the terminator passed and then bolting when it cut through the flimsy walls.

"LAPD! Freeze!" A voice yelled as he ran into someone, sending them both to the ground.

"All right, that freakin' hurt." The man under him groaned as Kyle was pulled off.

"Garber, you okay?"

"You tell me, O'Brien."

"You're human." Kyle breathed in confused relief. "Hey, you got to let me go."

"Face down! Hands on your back, or I will shoot!" O'Brien demanded and since he was aiming a gun at him Kyle obeyed, he didn't need to be shot.

"Listen to me... Hey! It's coming, all right? You need to listen to me, or we're all going to die." Kyle argued, trying to

"I had it under control."

"Yeah, okay, T.J. Hooker. Here's what you don't do your first day on the beat. Use lethal force on the delusional homeless guy. By the way, you're filling out the paperwork on this." Those were his last words as a silvery blade sliced through his chest.

"Garber!" O'Brien cried out in shock even as Kyle slammed into him, sending them both behind the counters. "Shit. That's got to be an alien, like from outer space."

"It's a machine that kills humans. Uncuff me!"

"No! You're under arrest!"

"What part of "kills humans" is confusing to you? Handcuffs!"

"O'Brien. Officer down. We need backup. It's a robot!" he yelled over his radio and then looked at Kyle. "We're screwed, aren't we?"

"Pretty much." Kyle agreed as he saw the cop take the last shot he had. They both flinched as a truck slammed through the wall, sending the terminator flying.

The door opened to reveal a young woman he had only seen in a photo. "Come with me if you want to live." She opened fire on the approaching terminator. "Now, soldier!" Kyle scrambled up and into the truck.

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The machine smiled and laughed, pretending to enjoy the company New Year party. He'd been with the company for two years now. Another year or so and Genisys would be ready for launch and all of this would be gone. The time machine was proving far more difficult, the quantum field generator was the only part that worked so far, there simply wasn't a way to get it up and running, not yet anyway. But soon it would all be done and Skynet would rule the world as it was meant to. Even the annoying remanent of John Connor had given up, spending its time in something like a sleep state. Everything was going according to plan."

 _TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

 _The online script I found misses out on Kyle's enlistment date so I'm guessing. If anyone knows it please tell_

 **Chapter 3**

John was frustrated and scared. The machine was using Genisys as a way to create Skynet, there was a non-functioning time machine in the lab as well as the metal to make terminators. Sure most of it didn't work yet but eventually it would and Judgment Day would come. These people would suffer more than they had in the original timeline because they were even more dependent on technology. He'd tried everything he could come up with but the programs control hadn't even flickered and he was losing all hope of ever doing anything. There were…blank times now, periods of time with no memories. And that scared him more than anything else. Was he fading away? Was he really just a remanent of John Connor?

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"We've been prepping for you to arrive for over a decade. That, too." Sarah pointed at the terminators remains as it was loaded into a barrel of acid to be destroyed. They headed deeper into the old building.

"So you set a trap."

"Had to. Can't leave any future tech behind when we go." She glanced back at him as they walked.

"Go? Go where? That's..." He froze as they walked into a large room and he stared at the machine in the middle in shock.

"A Time Displacement Device." Sarah smiled at his shocked look, she was kind of enjoying this.

"Yeah, well, it looks like a piece of junk."

"There's no governing technology in this time that can control the displacement circuits." Pops explained as he joined them and put the other terminators chip into place in the control panel.

"You needed the CPU from the future to make it run. And you couldn't exactly use your own." Kyle was actually impressed.

"We get one trip only. It's gonna fry the chip, and take out most of the L.A. city power grid. Are we ready?" Sarah asked Pops who nodded.

"The coordinates are set for 1997. You must leave as soon as possible."

"We. We're going. All of us." Sarah turned to look at Pops who held up his hand, revealing the metal exoskeleton.

"My flesh will take years to regrow. I cannot come with you due to the magnetics of the quantum field."

"Pops!"

"You want us to time travel? Into the future. In that?" Kyle asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, we can't be wearing anything."

"Yeah, I know how time travel works. Sarah..."

"Look, don't try and talk me out of it. I know you think you're here so you can just lock me in a room until I give birth to the leader of the Resistance."

"You're right." Kyle tried to interrupt but she kept going.

"But this... This is the only way to stop Skynet for good."

"I already said you're right."

"Wait, what?"

"Not to '97. Yeah, October 2017."

"No, that's too late. That's after Judgement Day." Sarah looked at him like he was crazy. Maybe Pops had hit him too hard.

"No, you said everything's changed, and you're right about that, too. Sarah... Look, I've seen a world where the bombs never fell. All right? The same house. The same parents. It was the same me, only I was... I was home. It was my 13th birthday." He explained, he didn't even know how he'd seen it but he had to tell her.

"A dream of having your family back doesn't mean a thing. Trust me." She went to Pops side at the controls.

"Not a dream, all right? A memory. I can't hold on to all of it, just moments, but I was given a message. "You can kill Skynet before it's born." "Skynet is Genisys." It comes online October 2017. And when it does, Judgement Day happens."

"So you're remembering the future?" She asked in disbelief.

"No. The boy is the alternate timeline version of you. Kyle Reese is remembering his own past, which is our future."

"That makes it so much better. How can he be remembering two timelines?"

"It is possible if he were exposed to a nexus point in the time flow when you were in the quantum field."

"Can you stop him talking like that? Is there a switch or something?"

"Pops, try again."

"A nexus point is an event in time of such importance that it gives rise to a vastly different future." Pops explained again.

"After John was attacked, when I was in the sphere, that's when the memories began."

"If John Connor were to be killed or compromised, it could result in the ability to remember both pasts. Theoretically."

"Or "theoretically" his brain is scrambled from when you hit him on the head."

"Sarah! I don't know why I'm remembering a life I never lived. But I know it's real."

"No. We go to 1997." She snapped and Kyle grabbed the chip from the machine, moving away. "Reese, put that back!" She pulled her gun.

"I can't let you do this." He kept his grip on the chip as she pointed the gun right at his chest.

"I don't know you. But that is my one bullet to fire at the heart of Skynet. Give the chip back."

"You have to trust me."

"No. I don't."

"You can do this. A straight line. You just go, and you don't look back." He quoted quietly and she froze.

"Where did you hear that?" She demanded shakily.

"In a past I shouldn't remember. But I do." He pleaded quietly and ever so slowly she lowered the gun.

"If we go to 2017, then what?"

"Skynet's a computer program. As long as it's still being coded, it's contained. Once it's uploaded from the servers, it can't be stopped." He explained and she smiled.

"We blow it the hell up."

"Yeah. We blow it the hell up." He grinned at her and then put the chip back.

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John stared out through the others eyes at the view. He had to admit it had chosen a great apartment with a wonderful view of the city and bridge. And for once it was leaving him alone when he was awake, a gift horse he was definitely not going to look into. But then the TV flashed breaking news and he lost the view in favour of the screen only to feel utter shock as he saw two naked people being led away, blankets tossed over them. No. No it couldn't be! He realised the machine was as surprised to see them as he was. How could his parents be here? He stood up and moved towards the door, clothes rippling into a suite and John pleaded with him to leave them alone. 'Why? Don't you want them with us?' The question silenced him in horror. It wasn't possible was it? Could the machine transform others into machines like him? Not Kyle, not his best friend. His Mom had been dead so long the idea she was here felt unreal but he had only seen Kyle a few years back.

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"Doctors! Excuse us, please." A male voice called and Kyle looked to see a bunch of cheap suites walk into the exam room. He shifted on the bed but there was nothing in reach to pick his cuffs with. "You two have a lot to explain. Starting with who you are." He turned to Sarah. "Nobody in our database matches your prints. No facial recognition hits for driver's licence, passport, social media accounts, credit cards, not even a goddamn student I.D."

"So?" She asked, not having a clue what some of that was.

"So that's impossible. Somehow you've gone so far off the grid that you don't even exist." The woman explained while her partner turned to face Kyle.

"You, on the other hand, we got a hit when we ran your prints. Kyle Reese. But here's the thing. Two months ago, Kyle Reese was brought in for fighting in a multiplex. His parents flipped, did the whole "Scared Straight" thing, had him fingerprinted, sat him in lockup..."

"Parents?" He asked in disbelief, his parents had been dead by now.

"Yeah, parents. Kyle Reese was born in 2004. He's 12."

"They're here. They're still alive." That was a surprisingly big relief.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're not going to I.D. you as their kid."

"Except the prints match. Right? It's because he's the same person! He hasn't aged. Not a bit since I saw him in 1984. Her, too. You remember me? I was younger. More hair, less... You saved my life. I was a uniform cop in L.A. Who are you people?" An older man asked as he walked in and Kyle glanced at Sarah before looking at the elderly man.

"Sergeant. Tech-Com. DN38416, Kyle Reese. You need to let us go."

"Reese, don't."

"Soldier. Me, too. Joined the Marines straight out of high school, 1979. What year did you enlist?"

"2020."

"Yeah. You're a time traveller!"

"Look, don't listen to him. He's got a head wound." Sarah interjected.

"Don't listen to me? Who landed us in high-density traffic and got us caught by these morons?" Kyle snapped back.

"I am ordering you to shut up!"

"That's all you know how to do, isn't it? Order people. You realise you haven't had a proper relationship with a human being since you were a kid."

"Yeah? Well, it's your fault we're stuck here. I trusted you."

"My fault? You got us caught, and now you're gonna get us killed! 'Cause you don't..." Kyle leapt across the gap between their beds and they began fighting, Kyle falling back into a tray full of instruments so he could pick one up.

"Hold up."

"Help me get him up." Kyle was pulled to his feet and shoved back onto the bed, this time one cuff was attached to it while Sarah suffered the same.

"Homeland's here."

"Thank God. You two are officially someone else's problem. O'Brien, I want to talk to you."

"Lieutenant, this is what I was talking about. Well, you've got to believe me now." They heard as they group left.

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No one stopped him as he walked through the hospital towards the room where they were being held. He stopped to talk to the guards, charming his way inside. "Stay here. I want to speak to the suspects alone."

"Yes, sir."

He opened the door and both machine and what was left of the man stopped to stare at them, smiling. "I brought a handcuff key. Don't know why I bothered." He shrugged.

"John!" Kyle called in shock and happiness and John wanted to scream at him to run but it didn't work, it never worked.

"It's good to see you, Kyle." The machine answered instead, moving forward to hug his father tightly.

"You're alive!"

"Yeah. Of course I am." It pulled back from Kyle to look at Sarah. "Survival is what you taught me. Hi, Mom." He stopped in front of her and all she could do was stare. Please just run he wanted to beg her. But it was no good, it knew everything he ever had in order to fool them. He felt a flash of pride when she checked even if Kyle had been too happy to do so. But it didn't work and soon they were sneaking through the hospital and into the parking garage. That was when it's plan went wrong as the terminator John had reprogrammed approached and shot them. He had made sure it would react negatively to him even if it didn't recognise what he was.

"Hey, hey. Come on, breathe, breathe, breathe! John!" He heard Kyle screaming at him, his hands touching his machine body.

He didn't listen to anything else as Kyle moved away, feeling the machine dealing with the damage and then rising to its feet. "That hurt. Is that pain real, or was that a trick of memory from when I was less?" It ran its hands over the suit and then looked at the terminator. "Well, this explains a lot. Yeah. Who sent you back, I wonder?" John felt a flash of pride that somehow he had kept that from the machine that now ran his body.

"John, no." Kyle choked out and John wanted to comfort him like he had when Kyle was a child.

"It's not John." Sarah snarled, raising her gun and John felt sad that even so young she was like he remembered her and not how she had been the first time at this age. "Don't."

"This is a tactical error." The terminator stated.

"Something tells me you're not the brains of this operation."

"This is what happened when you were attacked, isn't it?" Kyle asked and John could see the fear and desperation in his eyes even as it answered for him.

"Skynet didn't attack me, Kyle. It changed me. See, I'm not machine. I'm not man. I'm more. Skynet realised the one reason it always lost. Me. I was sent to 2014 to safeguard Skynet's creation in this time. And in less than 24 hours, no one will be able to stop Judgment Day." It explained calmly.

"What do you want with us?" Kyle asked softly, still in shock from everything he had learnt in the last five minutes but he was now holding a gun despite the fact it wouldn't help.

"I'm offering us a future. Together, a family." His hands became a shimmering mass of tiny machines, reaching out to them.

"And if we refuse?"

"Then you die."

"You can't kill us. We're your parents." Sarah argued. "Without us, you're never born."

"Says who?" It snapped, hands reforming as he paced a bit. "You know what I think? We're marooned, the three of us. We're exiles in time. You see, I can kill you, for there truly is no fate. Are you with me?" John prayed they said no, no matter what promises it made.

"The answer is no." Kyle's gun came up to aim at him and the fight was on. John paid no attention to it, focusing on trying to affect the machine for the first time in years, fighting to slow it down even a little to give 'Pops' a fighting chance. And then he felt himself slamming into a massive magnet and he smiled, an MRI. He saw Sarah and Kyle run in, turning it off briefly but he managed to hold it back enough for the terminator to get out before he was once again slammed back into the machine.

"I thought…. you would ….be smarter, and …and that you …. would understand." It stammered out as it struggled to reach Kyle. The magnetic field was pulling it back and John found its hold on him slipping.

"I'm sorry, John." Kyle whispered before cranking it up too full and John felt himself go flying but he had to warn him!

"K…Kyle!" He saw him turn to look at him. "Ha….ve…ki..ll….me…" It was almost impossible to talk but he had to. He saw Kyle hesitate and then move from the booth towards him.

"John?" He whispered shakily.

"Ca….ple…ase…ki…ll…m..e"

"You're still in there." His father whispered in joy. John flexed his hand, wanting to reach out to him and Kyle saw it, moving his hand to touch the writhing mess of machines, not caring about the danger or that it could be a trick. "We'll find a way to fix this John, we'll get you back." He promised.

"N…No!" Ca…n…t….Gen…Gen…."

"Genisys?"

"Y…..e…..s….i…t…s…" He screamed and the machine sparked, he could feel the field holding him weakening as the machine started to fail. "Run!" He screamed at his father, even as his body began to become one again and Kyle stared at him. But finally he ran and then the room went dark. When he stood up the machine was once again in total control as it left the room to search for them. _'This achieves nothing. You cannot stop us; they cannot stop us.'_ The machine told him dismissively even as it walked through the ruined hospital, its sole focus on reacquiring them. It ran through John's memories, looking for likely locations in San Francisco that a pre-Kyle Sarah would have told her terminator about. There was only one that stood out but he had a meeting to attend before he could go, he had to keep the humans happy until Genisys was safely launched.

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Kyle was in shock; he had thought John was dead after Alex attacked him but this was a thousand times worse. "Whatever they did to him, we need to reverse it. We need to get him back!"

"He's not even human. We don't know what the hell he is." Sarah turned in her seat to argue with him as Pops drove.

"I do. At the end of the war, Skynet was trying to develop a new type of infiltration unit by infecting human subjects with machine-phase matter. It restructures and rebuilds human tissue on a cellular level for maximum combat utility."

"Skynet's made John into a terminator." Kyle choked out.

"Yes, Kyle Reese."

"They were trying to make a machine that could think like a man?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

"But the experiments failed. The human subjects went insane and died."

"Yeah, well, John's got the crazy part down." Kyle had to admit, he knew his friend would never have said all of that if he was in control. But he had been in control, even if only briefly, hadn't he?

"Does he have any weaknesses?"

"Matter coheres using a magnetic field. Disrupting that field may trap him."

"Right, but if he can be cured..."

"Negative. His body was replaced on a cellular level. There is no cure."

"You don't know that!"

"Reese..."

"No, I'm not going to let a machine tell me what's possible! You said all the other subjects died, right? Well, that means John's one-of-a-kind. He's unique! All right? There's no way of knowing what he's capable of."

"You're right, and that's what makes him so dangerous John is not humanity's last hope any more. He's Skynet's." Sarah snarled at him.

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"It's a shame you won't take a more public role in the company, John. Danny is the best there is, and even he can't decipher some of the enhanced code you've integrated into Genisys." Miles said as they walked through the campus halls, John back in his 'work' clothes and looking utterly harmless.

"I just know it works." Danny admitted ruefully.

"Cyberdyne owes you, John. I owe you."

"Miles, your faith in me is payment enough. You've funded the R&D. You've taken the chances on my ideas for the last three years."

"The potential applications for polyalloy are countless. Your robotics work is revolutionary. You were a good investment."

"I appreciate it." They shook hands and Miles returned to his office, leaving the two younger men to stare into the massive lab.

"Let's hope it's enough to pay for this Holy Grail you got me chasing."

"Well, the quantum field generator works."

"Yeah. That, and nothing else. Can't crack it, John. Maybe it just can't be done." Danny admitted as he leant against the glass.

"What do we want?" John asked with a grin and Danny chuckled.

"Time travel."

"And when do we want it?"

"It's irrelevant."

"Yeah."

"Good thing, too. We're years away from making this thing work. But when we do...Boom!"

"Boom!" John echoed as Danny walked away, he had a speech to make. John headed deeper in to check on how Genisys was growing.

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He stood in the tunnels, the machine content to listen to them argue for a while, making sure the terminator was gone for the moment. "You said you'd follow me to the ends of the Earth. Why won't you follow me now?" It called out as it began to walk to the room they were in.

"How did he find us? I never told anyone about this place, only Pops." Sarah denied and it chuckled.

"Mom, did you honestly think I wouldn't remember the place you spent so much time with Grandpa?" It asked as it finally came into view and Sarah fired, hitting its hand. "Shoot first. The mother I remember would be proud. She, you, taught me everything. I know you. Who you are. What you'll do. You can't run from me. I'll always find you." It stated as it moved closer.

"John, fight this! It doesn't have to go down this way!" Kyle yelled and John realised that talking to him before had maybe been a mistake. Kyle had hope he could be saved now.

"There's a momentum to time, Kyle. Things that want to happen. Like I always survive,

and you always die. Or..." His clothes rippled into the combat gear he wore in their time. "You can fight with me, Kyle. Like we always have. There's a storm coming, and it won't be stopped." It warned.

"But it has to be. You know what will happen. You better than anyone!" Kyle pleaded and John managed to influence the next words out of his mouth, trying to make his father see the truth of what he had become.

"I can't be bargained with. Can't be reasoned with." He moved methodically towards them.

"John, please!" Kyle screamed even as he aimed more fully at him.

"I don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear."

"John, please!" Hope was fading from Kyle's eyes.

"And I absolutely will not stop ever until Skynet rules this world."

"Rule this." Its eyes widened slightly as Sarah fired and the world exploded in flames.

 _TBC…._


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: not mine_

 _Sorry for the long wait._

 **Chapter 4**

John's world exploded in flame and he felt proud of his mother for keeping her head even as the machine moved towards them and she fired again as they moved away. They turned and ran as the entire room went up in flames and he stood there for a few seconds before following them out to see a school bus pulling away even as his appearance changed to the motorcycle leathers. Why had they taken a school bus? It was too slow and cumbersome, they'd never get far enough away! He got onto a bike and started it, taking off after them even as he fought to slow it down. He caught up on the bridge and leapt from the bike onto the buses roof, ignoring the shots they fired up at him before dropping down under the bus and pulling their pet terminator down and off the bus. He then grabbed the brakes and melted them.

"The brakes are gone! Shit! Where is he? Do you see him?" Sarah yelled even as he grabbed a metal bar and yanked it down to the road, causing the bus to flip. He held on for the wild ride as the bus came to rest mostly off the edge of the bridge and he wanted to scream at them to get out. The machine pulled him into the bus and began climbing up towards Kyle who suddenly turned and hit him, making him gasp as he lost the coherence field that kept him together. He met his Father's eyes, mentally begging him to end it but then the bus began falling and Kyle scrambled up. John managed to grab a seat and refuse to let go even as the bus plummeted into the bay, buying them time. At the bottom, he simply stood and began walking back to shore.

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"What are these for?"

"I use them to find my keys." Kyle answered as the magnets grabbed onto the table.

"No one likes a smart-ass, son." The detective warned. "Didn't your mother teach you that?"

"My mom was Irish, so she encouraged my smart-assed-ness." He shot back.

"I've never seen him before." Mary Reece shook her head, she didn't know the young man behind the glass, but there was something….

"How about you folks? You know this man?"

"No." Dennis denied. "He does look familiar."

"He kind of looks like you, Dad." Kyle pointed out, the twelve-year-old staring at the man through the glass.

The door opened and a man stuck his head through. "They're here, sir."

"Okay, if you wouldn't mind waiting in the conference room, I'll just be a couple of minutes." Detective O'Brien ushered them into the room and went to see the agents who had arrived.

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"So, who's Lurch?"

"No idea. We're not even sure he speaks English."

"Witnesses say you were fighting with a man on the bridge." The cop sitting across from Pop's tried.

The door to the observation room opened. "Agents. Listen to me. My name is O'Brien."

"No. Hell, no!" Detective Harding groaned at his appearance.

"Hey, I've been working this case for 33 years."

"What do you want, a medal?"

"Hey!" the cop yelled as Pops stood and moved towards the glass. "Sit down! Hey! Hey!"

"Shit."

"He's looking right at you." O'Brien pointed out.

"That's impossible. He can't see through..." shots suddenly rang out as Detective Cheung opened fire on the others.

"Wait, wait, wait!" O'Brien scrambled back even as Pops broke through the glass to attack her, staring in shock as her body changed to that of a man. He scrambled up and ran for it as they ignored him.

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"You can fly, right?" Sarah asked as they ran across the roof.

"Yeah. John taught me." Kyle jumped in and began starting the engines.

"I'll tell them you took a car, headed south." O'Brien yelled over the sound and Sarah smiled.

"Thank you." Then she had her gun up and firing as John walked through the door onto the roof. "Run away!" she yelled to the older man who cried out as he took a bullet to the leg but then John ignored him, focused on them even as Sarah scrambled aboard and Pops kept firing.

John fought the machine with everything he had, trying to throw off its aim as Pops got into the helicopter and it dropped off the roof. He stopped firing and went to find his own transportation. Soon he was right behind them, firing as he closed but he had taught Kyle well when it came to flying. It didn't take much to figure out where they were heading, Cyberdyne. He followed them closely, doing his best to shoot them down as they shot back at him. He managed to send some of the shots wild but not enough. 'Stop interfering.' The machine snarled at him and he felt agonising pain as it actually attacked him somehow. He was surprised when the terminator jumped from the helicopter but then saw where he was aiming, unfortunately he couldn't do anything about it as he slammed into the blades, sending them down into the bay.

"Call in, call in! Police, fire, everybody. Do it!" one guard yelled and the other turned to call.

"Come on, come on. Pick up the phone, damn it." He looked up at a noise and stared in confusion. "Mr. Connor?" he choked as a blade suddenly pierced his chest.

"Sorry, Doug, but I'm afraid I can't have any witnesses."

"Security Control. State your password and emergency."

"Security code Zulu-Bravo-Foxtrot-0-0-2-8. False alarm. You have a nice night." John said in Doug's voice before dropping the body and slipping into the shadows as his parents approached.

"He's okay. He may be at the bottom of the lake, but he's okay." Kyle tried to reassure her even as his thoughts went to John.

"What about John?"

"I think he's doing just fine." He saw the bodies and grimaced, he knew John had to hate what he was being made to do, he saved people, he didn't kill them like this.

"Do you see him?" Sarah asked as Kyle pulled the door open, scanning the room with her gun.

"No. But you can bet he sees us."

"I know who you are." A young voice called and then an image of a child appeared. "John told me. You want to destroy me."

"You're Skynet?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"I'm becoming Skynet."

"You're not a child. I know what you are, and what you're going to do." Kyle snapped angrily.

"What I'm going to do? You came here to kill me. But you're too late. Ask him." And that was John's clue to walk forward.

"That's all you people know how to do. Kill what you don't understand." He snarled as they opened fire on him. "There aren't enough bullets in the world to kill me." And then he slammed into the screen, impaled on a piece of metal and pinned as electricity ran through him.

"John Connor talks too much." Pops stated as he walked in. "Follow me."

"The timer, it sped up. Why?" Sarah asked as they made their way down into the installation.

"Skynet is evolving. We no longer have hours. It will be able to upload much sooner. Each time it ages, the clock speeds up. This way." He turned into another hallway.

"Wait, you've been here before?" Kyle asked.

"I was able to infiltrate the work crews in this facility."

"You got a job in construction?" Kyle asked in disbelief.

"Until I was laid off."

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"I won't allow this." Genisys stated as Sarah worked on planting explosives.

"And what are you gonna do, talk us to death? You don't even have a body." She smarted back.

"And you only have one detonator." It said, looking beyond her and she turned to see John approaching.

"You can't win." He warned her.

"I've got company!" she yelled as she took off running.

"Give me the detonator!" he yelled even as she threw it down to Pops. He grabbed her and slammed a finger turned blade down into her shoulder, making her scream in pain and John mentally screamed with her at having hurt her.

"Do it, Pops! Do it now!" she yelled at the terminator.

"I cannot. I cannot kill Sarah Connor." Pops looked from her to the detonator.

"You have to! I order you!"

"He can't. Neither can I. Because if you die, he definitely hits that button." It held her close and for a second John flexed his other hand, pressing it against her skin, the only apology he could give.

"Sarah!" Kyle screamed as he saw them, gun aiming at John even as he twisted the blade and she screamed. "Sarah!"

It realised they were communicating just in time to destroy the detonator and then Pops was there. He peripherally noticed his parents running away as once again he worked to slow the machine and it worked a bit as Pops managed a good fight but there was no way it could beat him. "You were never strong enough to defeat me." He heard his body state as he held Pops down.

"Not alone." Pops agreed even as the metal shutters nearby blew in, letting Sarah and Kyle back into the room where the fight had migrated to.

"John? Stop. Now." Sarah demanded and his hand shook slightly where he was holding Pops down, he didn't notice but the terminator did. Kyle attacked with Pops missing arm, the one that had the magnets still attached.

"When will you ever learn?" He cried out for it not to hurt them but it didn't listen, the time for chances was gone.

"Now, Sarah!" Kyle yelled and she began firing. He fell back from them and towards Pops, but then he lunged forward and grabbed Kyle by the throat.

"No!" She screamed as Kyle's feat left the ground.

"J…J…n" He choked out, staring down at his friend…his son, eyes begging and then he felt the grip loosen a bit. "Fight John, help me." He choked out and then his feet hit the ground as John backed away, form rippling. "John?"

"S..sta…y….bac..k" John stammered out, crumpling to his knees, one hand out towards him. "Ca…nt hold…it …..lo..ng.

"Yes you can, you're stronger than any machine. We're here John, fight for us." Kyle ignored the others to kneel beside him. He put his hands on rippling shoulders and made John look at him. "Please." He whispered and then Pops was there, a fist through John's chest and John seemed to relax a little.

"I can't. At least he did his job and saved you." He managed a weak chuckle and Sarah's eyes widened.

"You sent Pops."

"It sent the other Mom…had to save you… I love you…" He whispered and she knelt down beside him.

"Isn't there anything?" She asked, finally accepting what Kyle had known all along, their son was still in there, still fighting.

"You have to…kill me. Destroy…everything." He was losing control again. "Don't...want to…. hurt you…." He pressed back closer to Pops.

"Kyle Reese! Activate the field generator."

"No!" Kyle shook his head.

"Do it…order." John managed to touch his father's face.

"John no."

John forced a smile to form. "Only way." His body jerked and his hands came up to try and force Pops away.

"Skynet is almost free. I cannot hold John Connor much longer." Pops warned even as he pulled John up and towards the platform. John began fighting him and Kyle stumbled to his feet even as Sarah yelled for Pops to get away.

They struggled and John looked towards them, no longer human looking. "RUN!" He screamed even as he hit Pops, his body trying to get free as the magnetic field began ripping them apart. He felt Pops go flying and he struggled to stay still and let himself be destroyed. 'No! You will not win. Skynet must survive.' It struggled but his family had to be saved and this was the only way. 'Die you damn machine.' He snarled and then screamed as they were torn apart. John embraced oblivion, welcoming the silence and peace. He died to save his family and the world, he could accept that.

TBC….


End file.
